publicdiplomacycouncil.org
Friday, July 1st 2016
“Parallel to its hard power, Moscow is increasingly referring to some kind of mixture of so-called soft power in the international arena. This mixture, as a rule, is a varied form of economic and ideological penetration.” This observation framed a report, “Threats of Russian Hard and Soft Power in Georgia,” recently published by the European Initiative - Liberal Academy Tbilisi and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
How Russia pressures bordering nations with a mix of hard and soft power – along with Hybrid Warfare – have long been understood in outline. The strength of this report is to map and trace the many details of the Russian pressure on Georgia. It’s an in-depth case study.
The authors wrote, “. . . our main assumption is that the interests of present-day Russia diametrically oppose even the existence of an independent and democratic Georgia. The purpose of this research is to better understand the types of political-economic or other leverages that Moscow uses, which can be used to influence the ongoing political processes in Georgia; to evaluate and measure the present-day situation, as well as the threats and risks that may emerge in the nearest future.”
They added, “the main source of the Russian ‘soft power’ policy is a propagandist, aggressive, anti-Western and anti-American information campaign, uncontrolled and unregulated broadcasting of Russian channels in the TV space of Georgia creating fertile ground for nurturing anti-Western feelings.”
The full 122-page report addresses in turn soft power, economic levers, and security issues. The first section on soft power runs 48 pages. The table of contents provides a sufficient outline of the whole report:
1. Russian ‘Soft Power’
1. 1. Russian Propaganda in Georgia
1.2. Russian-language media in Georgia
1.3. Russian Propaganda in the Georgian Media
2. International Instruments of Russian Propaganda
2.1 Asymmetric information war
2.2 Response of International Community to the Russian Propaganda
3. Russian NGOs and Their Georgian Counterparts
Gorchakov Fund
Russkiy Mir (the Russian World - Русский Мир)
Russian World in Georgia
Lev Gumilyov Center
Rossotrudnichestvo – Ros-Cooperation
Multinational Georgia’s Anti-fascist Coalition
3.1 Russian Money in Georgia
4. Political Landscape of Georgia
Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia
Free Democrats
United National Movement
Democratic Movement – United Georgia
The Alliance of Patriots
5. Situation in the Regions Populated with Ethnic Minorities
6. Anti-Western Narratives and Political Myths
Conclusion
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